fbpx
Wikipedia

Design Research (store)

January 01, 1970

This article is about the retail lifestyle store chain (1953-1978). For the field of study, see Design research.

Design Research (abbreviated and trademarked as D/R) was a retail store founded in 1953 by Ben Thompson in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and which introduced the concept of lifestyle store. In the 1970s under subsequent ownership, it became a chain of a dozen stores across the United States, and went bankrupt in 1979. Thompson's goal was to provide "a place where people could buy everything they needed for contemporary living",[1] notably modern European furnishings and in particular Scandinavian design.

Design Research
Design Research was temporarily revived as a street-visible exhibition in 2009
D/R
Founded1953; 71 years ago (1953) in Cambridge, Massachusetts
FounderBen Thompson
Defunct1978 (1978)
FateBankruptcy; Brand rights acquired jointly by Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn

Without question, D/R was the most influential force in twentieth-century America in creating an awareness and appreciation for modern design in the consumer world.

Rob Forbes, founder
Design Within Reach[2]

D/R has continued to have an outsized reputation: in 2000, a survey of influential design stores named D/R as number one, though it had then been closed for 22 years.[2] The store influenced later retailers like Crate & Barrel,[3] Design Within Reach,[1] Pottery Barn, Workbench, and Conran's.[4]

Selection of products edit

The genius of Ben Thompson was that he wasn't a retailer, so he didn't approach retailing in a conventional way at all... Eventually we took the whole idea and translated it into a reproducible formula.

Lon Habkirk
Crate & Barrel[3]

Design Research carried an eclectic selection of products, from furniture to clothing, from toys to pots and pans, at a wide range of prices, introducing the idea of a lifestyle store.[5] It carried furnishings by such designers as Marcel Breuer, Hans Wegner, Alvar Aalto, and Joe Colombo.[6]

Design Research was the exclusive US representative for the Finnish clothing and textiles of Marimekko from 1959 to 1976.[7] Jacqueline Kennedy was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1960 in a Marimekko sundress purchased at D/R.[8]

Stores edit

The original Design Research store was in a 19th-century wood frame mansard house at 57 Brattle Street, in Harvard Square, Cambridge.[4] D/R later added stores in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts; Lexington Avenue (1961) and East 57th Street (1964) in New York City; and Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco (1965).[citation needed]

This marvelous building... is conceived as a five-story glass showcase, faceted like the surface of a diamond. The facade is so transparent that the merchandise on display indoors becomes part of the architecture.

Robert Campbell
architecture critic
The Boston Globe[9]

In 1969, Thompson moved the original Cambridge store to a revolutionary new 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m2) building designed by his firm, Benjamin Thompson and Associates, at 48 Brattle Street in Harvard Square, on a block that came to be known as "Architects' Corner".[10] The 5-story building consists of flat concrete slabs supported by interior columns, and enclosed by frameless tempered glass walls.[11] The use of butted glass with no frame or mullions was unprecedented, and "allowed D/R to be a building almost 'without architecture'".[12]

It immediately received favorable reviews: "points the way to a method of glass building that could create a warmer city, adding color and light and optimism to the life of the streets".[13] The building won many awards over the years:[14]

The first D/R stores were all located in urban areas, but under new management starting in 1969, D/R opened stores in suburban shopping malls, which Thompson disapproved of:[citation needed] South Shore Plaza in Braintree, Massachusetts (1972); South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California (1972); and The Mall at Chestnut Hill in Newton, Massachusetts (1974). The company also opened urban stores at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco (1973), and in downtown Philadelphia in Rittenhouse Square (1975).[16]

Later tenants of Brattle Street store edit

After D/R closed in 1979, the Brattle Street building housed a Crate & Barrel store (1979-January 2009[17]).

From October 2009 to April 2010, the vacant Brattle Street store hosted a temporary installation of D/R goods, visible from the street.[18]

Since August 2010, the building has housed an Anthropologie store.[19]

Corporate history edit

Design Research was started by the architect Ben Thompson in 1953.[citation needed] Spencer Field, a furniture designer, joined the firm as a 50-50 business partner in the early 1950s.[20] By 1966, it was clear that the company was underfinanced for Thompson's expansion plans, and he started looking for outside investors. The company was reorganized as a new corporate entity in 1967 and was recapitalized, with Field's interest being bought out in February 1968 by Peter J. Sprague, an entrepreneur and chairman of National Semiconductor, who became chairman.[citation needed]

In 1969, Sprague forced Thompson out as director of the company, but Thompson remained a stockholder.[citation needed] Under a succession of presidents, D/R opened more new stores, but Thompson felt that they had lost their distinctive style and approach.[citation needed] By 1976, the business was deteriorating, and in 1979 it declared bankruptcy. Rights to the names "Design Research" and "D/R" were bought jointly by Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn.[21]

Bibliography edit

  • Janet Levy, "Design Research: Marketing 'Good design' in the 50s, 60s, and 70s", Master of Arts thesis at Parsons The New School for Design, 2004. chapter list
  • Walter J. Salmon, "Design Research, Inc.", Harvard Business School Case 578-203 (not seen)
  • Thompson, Jane; Lange, Alexandra (2010). Design Research: the store that brought modern living to American homes. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-6818-4.
  • Andrew Wagner, "Partners in Design", Dwell October/November 2005 full text original magazine spread
  • , ArchitectureBoston, Spring 2011 issue, Boston Society of Architects. Issue is dedicated entirely to Thompson with articles by various authors.

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b Pilar Viladas, "One-Stop Living", The New York Times September 29, 2010 [1]
  2. ^ a b Rob Forbes, "Foreword: Who's Your Daddy?" in Jane Thompson and Alexandra Lange, Design Research: The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes, 2010 ISBN 0-8118-6818-4, p. 7 excerpt available
  3. ^ a b Joseph P. Kahn (November 1, 1985). "On Display: Founder Gordon Segal's sense of selling as theater has made Crate & Barrel one of the world's most admired and imitated retailing operations". Inc. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Suzanne Slesin, "Design/ Research Store Starts Its Final Sale", The New York Times June 1, 1979
  5. ^ Carole Nicksin, "The Legacy of Design Research: The impact of the long-defunct retailer is still being felt within the home furnishings industry", HFN The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network, November 8, 2004 full text
  6. ^ Rachel Travers, "Through a glass, brightly", The Boston Globe, October 29, 2009. [2]
  7. ^ Marianne Aav, Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, 2003 ISBN 0-300-10183-X, p. 305, 324 excerpts at Google Books
  8. ^ Sports Illustrated, December 26, 1960; in Marianne Aav, Marimekko: Fabrics, Fashion, Architecture, 2003, ISBN 030010183X, p. 162
  9. ^ Robert Campbell, "Two urban drawing cards are now in limbo: Challenges ahead for Faneuil Hall Marketplace and a glass icon in Cambridge", The Boston Globe, December 21, 2008 full text
  10. ^ "Architects' Corner", Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia [3]
  11. ^ "25-Year Award to Design Research Headquarters", ArchitectureWeek full text
  12. ^ Tom Green, as quoted in Mark Pasnik, Michael Kubo, Chris Grimley, Heroic: Concrete Architecture and the New Boston, 2015, ISBN 1580934242, p. 188
  13. ^ Architectural Record as quoted in Gavin W. Kleespies and Katie MacDonald (Cambridge Historical Society), "Design Research Building" in Harvard Square Business Association Archives [4] 2010-12-23 at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ . Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2010-10-24.
  15. ^ Twenty Five Year Award Recipients 2016-11-19 at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ^ Janet Levy, "Design Research: Marketing 'Good design' in the 50s, 60s, and 70s", Master of Arts thesis at Parsons The New School for Design, 2004. Chapter 2, p. 63
  17. ^ Peter F. Zhu, "Crate & Barrel To Close", The Harvard Crimson, November 19, 2008 full text
  18. ^ Alyssa Giacobbe, "A Look Back at Design Research", The New York Times October 28, 2009 full text
  19. ^ Xi Yu, "Women's Clothing Store Anthropologie To Light Up Space on Brattle St.", The Harvard Crimson, June 24, 2010 full text
  20. ^ Obituary, "Spencer Field, at 78; owned travel firm, designed furniture", The Boston Globe, February 21, 1997, p. B7
  21. ^ Levy, "Design Research" Chapter 1 2013-05-15 at the Wayback Machine, p. 17-29

Further reading edit

  • Sullivan, Charles M., , Cambridge Historical Commission. Cf. on D/R in Harvard Square

External links edit

  • Design Research Headquarters at Great Buildings: photos, plans, bibliography from ArchitectureWeek.
  • at the Archiplanet wiki, a service of ArchitectureWeek

January 01, 1970
design, research, store, this, article, about, retail, lifestyle, store, chain, 1953, 1978, field, study, design, research, design, research, abbreviated, trademarked, retail, store, founded, 1953, thompson, cambridge, massachusetts, which, introduced, concept. This article is about the retail lifestyle store chain 1953 1978 For the field of study see Design research Design Research abbreviated and trademarked as D R was a retail store founded in 1953 by Ben Thompson in Cambridge Massachusetts and which introduced the concept of lifestyle store In the 1970s under subsequent ownership it became a chain of a dozen stores across the United States and went bankrupt in 1979 Thompson s goal was to provide a place where people could buy everything they needed for contemporary living 1 notably modern European furnishings and in particular Scandinavian design Design ResearchDesign Research was temporarily revived as a street visible exhibition in 2009Trade nameD RFounded1953 71 years ago 1953 in Cambridge MassachusettsFounderBen ThompsonDefunct1978 1978 FateBankruptcy Brand rights acquired jointly by Crate amp Barrel and Pottery Barn Without question D R was the most influential force in twentieth century America in creating an awareness and appreciation for modern design in the consumer world Rob Forbes founderDesign Within Reach 2 D R has continued to have an outsized reputation in 2000 a survey of influential design stores named D R as number one though it had then been closed for 22 years 2 The store influenced later retailers like Crate amp Barrel 3 Design Within Reach 1 Pottery Barn Workbench and Conran s 4 Contents 1 Selection of products 2 Stores 3 Later tenants of Brattle Street store 4 Corporate history 5 Bibliography 6 Notes 7 Further reading 8 External linksSelection of products editThe genius of Ben Thompson was that he wasn t a retailer so he didn t approach retailing in a conventional way at all Eventually we took the whole idea and translated it into a reproducible formula Lon HabkirkCrate amp Barrel 3 Design Research carried an eclectic selection of products from furniture to clothing from toys to pots and pans at a wide range of prices introducing the idea of a lifestyle store 5 It carried furnishings by such designers as Marcel Breuer Hans Wegner Alvar Aalto and Joe Colombo 6 Design Research was the exclusive US representative for the Finnish clothing and textiles of Marimekko from 1959 to 1976 7 Jacqueline Kennedy was pictured on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1960 in a Marimekko sundress purchased at D R 8 Stores editThe original Design Research store was in a 19th century wood frame mansard house at 57 Brattle Street in Harvard Square Cambridge 4 D R later added stores in Hyannis Port Massachusetts Lexington Avenue 1961 and East 57th Street 1964 in New York City and Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco 1965 citation needed This marvelous building is conceived as a five story glass showcase faceted like the surface of a diamond The facade is so transparent that the merchandise on display indoors becomes part of the architecture Robert Campbell architecture criticThe Boston Globe 9 In 1969 Thompson moved the original Cambridge store to a revolutionary new 24 000 square foot 2 200 m2 building designed by his firm Benjamin Thompson and Associates at 48 Brattle Street in Harvard Square on a block that came to be known as Architects Corner 10 The 5 story building consists of flat concrete slabs supported by interior columns and enclosed by frameless tempered glass walls 11 The use of butted glass with no frame or mullions was unprecedented and allowed D R to be a building almost without architecture 12 It immediately received favorable reviews points the way to a method of glass building that could create a warmer city adding color and light and optimism to the life of the streets 13 The building won many awards over the years 14 1970 New England AIA Honor Award New England Chapter of the American Institute of Architects 1971 Harleston Parker Medal for Outstanding Architecture Boston Society of Architects 1971 National Honor Award American Institute of Architects 2003 AIA Twenty five Year Award for architecture of enduring significance 15 The first D R stores were all located in urban areas but under new management starting in 1969 D R opened stores in suburban shopping malls which Thompson disapproved of citation needed South Shore Plaza in Braintree Massachusetts 1972 South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa California 1972 and The Mall at Chestnut Hill in Newton Massachusetts 1974 The company also opened urban stores at the Embarcadero Center in San Francisco 1973 and in downtown Philadelphia in Rittenhouse Square 1975 16 Later tenants of Brattle Street store editAfter D R closed in 1979 the Brattle Street building housed a Crate amp Barrel store 1979 January 2009 17 From October 2009 to April 2010 the vacant Brattle Street store hosted a temporary installation of D R goods visible from the street 18 Since August 2010 the building has housed an Anthropologie store 19 Corporate history editDesign Research was started by the architect Ben Thompson in 1953 citation needed Spencer Field a furniture designer joined the firm as a 50 50 business partner in the early 1950s 20 By 1966 it was clear that the company was underfinanced for Thompson s expansion plans and he started looking for outside investors The company was reorganized as a new corporate entity in 1967 and was recapitalized with Field s interest being bought out in February 1968 by Peter J Sprague an entrepreneur and chairman of National Semiconductor who became chairman citation needed In 1969 Sprague forced Thompson out as director of the company but Thompson remained a stockholder citation needed Under a succession of presidents D R opened more new stores but Thompson felt that they had lost their distinctive style and approach citation needed By 1976 the business was deteriorating and in 1979 it declared bankruptcy Rights to the names Design Research and D R were bought jointly by Crate amp Barrel and Pottery Barn 21 Bibliography editJanet Levy Design Research Marketing Good design in the 50s 60s and 70s Master of Arts thesis at Parsons The New School for Design 2004 chapter list Walter J Salmon Design Research Inc Harvard Business School Case 578 203 not seen Thompson Jane Lange Alexandra 2010 Design Research the store that brought modern living to American homes San Francisco Chronicle Books ISBN 0 8118 6818 4 Andrew Wagner Partners in Design Dwell October November 2005 full text original magazine spread Ben Thompson ArchitectureBoston Spring 2011 issue Boston Society of Architects Issue is dedicated entirely to Thompson with articles by various authors Notes edit a b Pilar Viladas One Stop Living The New York Times September 29 2010 1 a b Rob Forbes Foreword Who s Your Daddy in Jane Thompson and Alexandra Lange Design Research The Store That Brought Modern Living to American Homes 2010 ISBN 0 8118 6818 4 p 7 excerpt available a b Joseph P Kahn November 1 1985 On Display Founder Gordon Segal s sense of selling as theater has made Crate amp Barrel one of the world s most admired and imitated retailing operations Inc Retrieved February 5 2010 a b Suzanne Slesin Design Research Store Starts Its Final Sale The New York Times June 1 1979 Carole Nicksin The Legacy of Design Research The impact of the long defunct retailer is still being felt within the home furnishings industry HFN The Weekly Newspaper for the Home Furnishing Network November 8 2004 full text Rachel Travers Through a glass brightly The Boston Globe October 29 2009 2 Marianne Aav Marimekko Fabrics Fashion Architecture 2003 ISBN 0 300 10183 X p 305 324 excerpts at Google Books Sports Illustrated December 26 1960 in Marianne Aav Marimekko Fabrics Fashion Architecture 2003 ISBN 030010183X p 162 Robert Campbell Two urban drawing cards are now in limbo Challenges ahead for Faneuil Hall Marketplace and a glass icon in Cambridge The Boston Globe December 21 2008 full text Architects Corner Society of Architectural Historians SAH Archipedia 3 25 Year Award to Design Research Headquarters ArchitectureWeek full text Tom Green as quoted in Mark Pasnik Michael Kubo Chris Grimley Heroic Concrete Architecture and the New Boston 2015 ISBN 1580934242 p 188 Architectural Record as quoted in Gavin W Kleespies and Katie MacDonald Cambridge Historical Society Design Research Building in Harvard Square Business Association Archives 4 Archived 2010 12 23 at the Wayback Machine BTA s Honors and Awards Archived from the original on 2011 07 08 Retrieved 2010 10 24 Twenty Five Year Award Recipients Archived 2016 11 19 at the Wayback Machine Janet Levy Design Research Marketing Good design in the 50s 60s and 70s Master of Arts thesis at Parsons The New School for Design 2004 Chapter 2 p 63 Peter F Zhu Crate amp Barrel To Close The Harvard Crimson November 19 2008 full text Alyssa Giacobbe A Look Back at Design Research The New York Times October 28 2009 full text Xi Yu Women s Clothing Store Anthropologie To Light Up Space on Brattle St The Harvard Crimson June 24 2010 full text Obituary Spencer Field at 78 owned travel firm designed furniture The Boston Globe February 21 1997 p B7 Levy Design Research Chapter 1 Archived 2013 05 15 at the Wayback Machine p 17 29Further reading editSullivan Charles M Harvard Square History and Development Cambridge Historical Commission Cf Part 4 on D R in Harvard SquareExternal links editDesign Research Headquarters at Great Buildings photos plans bibliography from ArchitectureWeek Design Research Headquarters at the Archiplanet wiki a service of ArchitectureWeek Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Design Research store amp oldid 1206338205, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.